“One of the first times I ever met Carl Froch, I went round his house for a meeting and he was carrying two huge slabs of concrete on his shoulders,” recalls Eddie Hearn, Froch’s promoter.

“He had his shirt off and a pair of overalls on. I thought: ‘What’s going on here?’ This was a champion of the world – and he was fitting up his own patio, carrying concrete around. What people don’t see about Carl is if that if the flooring needs doing in his house, he’ll go down to B&Q, pick up what he needs and go and do it. He’s down-to-earth. He’s so real.

Unsurprisingly, this is not a view shared by Froch’s fellow Brit and opponent in Manchester this weekend, George Groves. When Sport spoke to Groves, backstage at Sky Sports on the day the pair were interviewed on an animosity-fuelled edition of the Ringside boxing show, he described an entirely different character.

“I’ve only met him a handful of times,” says Groves. “But if you see him, listen to him or read his interviews, his personality comes across as someone who’s insecure and also, in part, an egomaniac. He was always fighting for recognition until he joined Sky, then his profile raised – and now he feels that he’s above and beyond not just fighters in his own division, but pretty much all British fighters.

“So the fact he’s got to fight me winds him up. I think he finds my confidence bemusing. He can’t possibly think that a chap like me with 19 fights who hasn’t fought the likes of Andre Ward or Mikkel Kessler can be mentioned in the same breath as him, let alone get in the ring and beat him. That’s a dangerous mentality to have before a fight like this.”

SLEEPY CHUMP
Whether you’re inclined to believe Groves’ take on Froch’s personality or Matchroom boss Hearn’s, Groves makes two accurate points. First, that Froch has had a long battle for recognition. Second, that Groves has wound him up. It’s obvious as Sport watches the two super-middleweights on a tense Ringside set. Even with cameras off, Froch refuses to talk to or make eye contact with Groves, who stares occasionally at his rival.

At one point, when the cameras are rolling, Groves goads Froch playground-style: “I’ll put this chump to sleep… you’re going to cry, aren’t you? Don’t cry.”

Froch clamps his eyes shut and a throbbing vein on his temple does its best to detach itself from his head.

Froch doesn’t particularly look like he wants to cry, but he does look like he wants to lamp his tormentor. “I don’t dislike him, I don’t hate George Groves – that’s too much of a strong word,” Froch tells Sport, not entirely convincingly.

“He is quite arrogant, but he’s a young kid – 25 years old. It must be quite daunting for him; knowing he’s going in the ring with somebody who’s done what I’ve done. He’s got to give himself some confidence – and if downplaying my performances and trying to minimise what I’ve achieved gives him confidence, then that’s what he’s doing… He’s a bit quiet. He’s not my type of bloke, to be honest, but I’ve got nothing really against him.”

Hearn has a different view: “I was sat between them, and I can tell you they literally can’t stand each other. It’s almost like being in a bar where there’s a confrontation brewing. You know that, at any time, it could go off.

“So I’m sitting there thinking: ‘Jesus Christ – not now, please!’ But at the same time, as a promoter, I’m thinking: ‘Lovely! Keep going’. But the great thing about this is it’s very real. I’ve seen a lot of manufactured stuff in the past, and it can look really naff. But when it’s real, it’s only going to grow and grow, because we’ve got press conferences still to come, the weigh-in before the fight… George will be doing everything he can to try to take Carl out of his comfort zone.”

MIND GAMES
Groves, the articulate and usually mild-mannered Londoner is clearly implementing a strategy. The widespread opinion is that his best chance of winning this fight, for which he starts a clear underdog, is by out-boxing Froch; playing the red-headed matador to the Nottingham man’s raging bull. Therefore the more Groves can needle Froch, the better. Hearn sees the logic.

“If you look back at a fight Froch had with Andre Dirrell, it was a similar kind of thing where he couldn’t stand Dirrell – and Carl made mistakes in that fight. He chased Dirrell, his footwork was poor, he was just so hell-bent on knocking Dirrell out that he did make mistakes. And Dirrell is a slippery, fast kind of fighter like Groves.”

“George really wants to make Carl lose his mind in the build-up to this fight. But I think what he’s also done – which could be a mistake – is he’s pushed all the switches to turn Carl Froch into beast mode. If there was any chance of Carl taking this fight lightly, that’s been eradicated straight away by George winding him up.”

Froch himself admits his plan is to keep cool and minimise how much Groves gets under his skin. “I’m not going to be mentally involved,” he says. “It’s difficult sometimes to not get emotionally caught up, but I’ve learned from some past fights. I’m too experienced now to get drawn into something I don’t want to.”

THE HUNGER
At 36 years of age, Froch is certainly experienced. What’s remarkable about ‘The Cobra’ is his desire. An old boxing adage is that it’s hard to get up and go running in the morning when you wake up in silk pyjamas. The trappings of success breed complacency. For years, Froch battled for the recognition and financial reward that he never quite achieved when compared to his elite British contemporaries Amir Khan and David Haye.

Now, he has the defining career wins, the financial reward, the big house in Nottinghamshire, model partner Rachael and general acknowledgement as Britain’s premier pugilist. Every reason to feel satisfied. Yet, unlike many boxers, Froch’s burning desire to fight, to win and to stay in prime condition at all times has never for a split second abated.

As Hearn puts it: “So many fighters will blow up in weight between fights or go out and have a few beers. He won’t, as he’s so obsessed with his performance and getting the edge. Because he’s not the most gifted fighter of all-time.

"Take someone who gives 50 per cent dedication with Carl Froch’s ability – they wouldn’t win world titles. Nowhere near. But combine Carl’s ability – which is very, very good – with his work ethic and his unbelievable drive and you’ve got what you have: the number one fighter in Britain.”

DRIVE TIME
Froch himself admits that he’s no longer fighting just to keep the bank manager happy.

“Obviously boxing is my livelihood, but the financial reward is not the sole ingredient why I get out of bed and run in the pissing down rain or spar with the likes of [light-heavyweight contender] Tony Bellew, trying to knock my teeth down the back of my throat. It’s not all about money. I live the sport.

“I’ve loved boxing since I was a kid. I’m talking seven, eight years old in the amateur days – hitting the bag and sparring with massive gloves like pillows. So while I can still do it, I will. The fanbase is here for me – and the fans get what they pay for with me. I enjoy providing them with exciting nights of boxing.”

Hearn takes it a step further. “I’ve called him a borderline psychopath before,” he says. “He’s probably the toughest man I’ve ever met – and I’ve met a few. But there’s something about Carl Froch. He loves to fight. Take all the money away, take the fame away, he would still fight. He loves competing. He almost relishes getting hit. You look at him during fights and you just think: ‘You’re sick in the head’, because he’s taking shots and he’s snarling and he’s smiling. But his chin is abnormal.”

CHINKS IN THE ARMOUR
Froch’s toughness and granite jaw are undeniable. Strengths we’re partly aware of because, for all his qualities, he often isn’t the hardest boxer to hit. “He’s one-dimensional,” reckons Groves. “And in my opinion, whether it’s down to trying to gain popularity or just laziness, he’s become even more one dimensional over time. He’s on the decline.

He keeps himself in good nick and I’m sure he lives a clean life – but still, he’s pushing on in age.

“This is an exciting fight. We’re going to see: can I deal with the pressure of stepping up against [mimes quote marks] ‘an international superstar’? And is he going to be able to deal with the pressure of fighting a very good up-and-coming fighter.”

Froch has heard the one-dimensional argument before. “I’ve shown that I can box for 12 rounds against [former IBF Middleweight Champion] Arthur Abraham,” he says. “I was the first Englishman to medal at the World Amateur Boxing Championships. I’m a two-time ABA champion. My boxing ability is understated by a lot of fighters, because they’d like to believe that I’m just a slugger. That I can only stand and brawl. Wrong.”

Both men can indeed box, have accurate jabs and punishing punch power. It’s Groves’ perceived deficiencies in terms of experience and the doubts over his ability to stand up to Froch’s blows that make him the underdog. However, the speedy, nimble Groves – unbeaten and a decorated amateur himself – has the style to give Froch problems. There’s also a chance he could be meeting Froch at exactly the right time.

BEST OF FRIENDS
It’s a point made succinctly by a friend to both fighters, David Haye. The heavyweight is a long-standing pal of Froch’s and – until Groves’ recent split with trainer/manager Adam Booth – a stablemate of ‘Saint George’.

Back in September, while training for his (since cancelled) fight against Tyson Fury, he gave Sport this diplomatic opinion: “They’re both capable of winning the fight. It’s just [a question of] who gets it right on the night. If they fought ten times, it would be a different result a lot of the time.

“I’ve known Carl since I was 17 and our families have gone on holiday together. I’ve obviously worked with George since he turned pro – before then, even. So good luck to both. I want the best man to win.”

Haye shrugged his shoulders, but added a parting thought: “Carl’s been to the well many times. He’s had these tough, 50/50 fights for years and years and years… He’s taken chunks out of himself. George hasn’t. He’s fresh.”

If Groves is to pull off the upset, he’ll need to do so without his and Haye’s long-term guru Booth in the corner. Groves claims this has not upset his preparations. “Carl thinks that because the captain of my ship, Adam Booth, is no longer sailing it, that I’m going to veer off course,” he says. “But the truth of the matter is that I’ve been looking after myself for a long time now. And I know how to beat him.

“”Paddy Fitzpatrick [Groves’ trainer for this fight] is a very experienced coach, so when I told him what I wanted to do, if he didn’t agree with that strategy, I think he would have told me or decided not to work with me. We’re on the same page… But it’s me who’s got to get in the ring and take punches. It’s me who risks my health for a living, so you need to be independent.

“I never sit down at the end of the round, looking for reassurance. Carl is so dependent on his trainer. Put it this way: if he separated from his trainer eight-to-ten weeks before a fight, there’s no way he’d go through with it. Whereas with me, if I had no trainer, I’d still show up and ask a fella in the first row to hand me water in between rounds – and I’d still bash Carl Froch up. That’s the truth.”

What’s certainly true is there couldn’t be a greater contrast between Groves’ relationship with Booth and that between Froch and his trainer, Rob McCracken. The poker-faced Brummie who oversees Britain’s successful amateur programme has a no-contract, handshake-deal with Froch.

As the boxer points out: “Business-wise, I could have my last fight, owe him a big wedge of money and not pay him – but we both know that’s not going to happen. I have so much respect for him and what he does. I realise that without Rob, I wouldn’t be where I am. I consider Rob as part of my family.”

To Froch, his complete faith in McCracken is a strength. To Groves, it’s a sign of weakness. “Mentally, he’s fragile,” says Groves of Froch. “When we did our last interview together, he chewed the inside of his mouth out. He refused to shake my hand. He couldn’t even talk to me. Now, for an apparently respectful champion with a disrespectful challenger, surely he’d show maturity over this stroppy little kid who he’s fighting?

“But really, I’m just telling him the truth and he doesn’t want to hear it. Come fight night, you get through them ropes on your own. And it’s a frightening place to be sometimes. Especially when you feel like you deserve to be above and beyond the fella who you’re with you, and everyone in the world is watching, and you find you have no answers to what’s happening and you start to drown. And we’ll watch Carl Froch drown: a dry drowning, in the ring, on November 23.”

Froch’s view is somewhat different. “If Groves runs and doesn’t engage with me, he’s going to lose the fight widely on points and he’ll disgrace himself,” he says. “But I think there will have to be a point in the fight where he’s going to have to stand and have a go. He’s not going to want to, because he has a glass jaw. I put him over in sparring with quite big, padded 16oz gloves. He’s going to get a rude awakening when the 10oz gloves start hitting him with my knuckles behind them.”

You can, as Hearn suggests, hear the relish in Froch’s voice as he talks about the prospect of exchanging blows.

“People love a good, old-fashioned, passionate tear-up in the ring,” says Froch. “It’s a bit barbaric, but that’s ultimately what human beings are. Boxing is the oldest sport in history. Going back to the gladiators and Roman times. People love it. They’ve said for years boxing’s dead or on the slide, but we get great support here in Britain. We draw crowds, because human nature likes to see a good scrap.

“Boxing’s not going anywhere – and, unfortunately for George Groves, nor am I just yet.”